Fort Ord Musical Planting Event Planned

Bluegrass and native grasses will be the order of the day January 23 at the annual Fort Ord Public Lands Musical Volunteer Planting. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 pm.

“If you love music in nature, come join in our 14th year of musical restoration of the incredible Fort Ord backcountry,” said Bruce Delgado, botanist in the Bureau of Land Management’s Fort Ord office. “Local musicians will be serenading volunteers with live jazz and funky bluegrass music of the popular band “Micronoic Harmonics” while we plant approximately 800 native plants to help restore Fort Ord habitat.”

The plantings will help reduce erosion, reduce non-native invasive plants and support the growth of rare and valuable plants and animals historically found on Fort Ord.

“We are pleased to be partnering with the Army’s Base Realignment and Closure Office on this restoration event,” said Eric Morgan, manager of the BLM’s Fort Ord Office. “The Army continues to be a wonderful partner with the BLM in transforming large portions of the former military post into a habitat reserve.”

Volunteers will learn to identify and successfully plant native plants in the backcountry of Fort Ord while discussing the role that conservation plays in the re-use of the former Fort Ord Military Base.

Participants should bring durable clothes and boots, a hat and sunscreen. Refreshments, water and all planting supplies will be provided.

This event is co-sponsored by the BLM, Army Base Realignment and Closure Office, Return of the Natives, and the Monterey Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Contact Delgado for more information at bdelgado@blm.gov or (831) 394-8314